Extramarital affair of Republican governor

GOP governors keep their distance from Missouri's Greitens

By DANIEL STRAUSS

Republican governors don’t have any advice for Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

Fellow GOP leaders at the National Governors Association winter meeting this weekend didn't try to give Greitens any cover as he faces an indictment and likely investigation in his state's Republican-controlled legislature. And they shied away from saying whether the first-term GOP governor should resign or fight the charges.

"That's all up to him," said Vermont Gov. Phil Scott. “I'll leave it up to him.”

"That's up to him," Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said when asked whether Greitens should step down.

Greitens was indicted by a grand jury in St. Louis last week over a charge of invasion of privacy stemming from an extramarital affair. Greitens has admitted to the affair but denied claims from the woman's ex-husband that he tried to use a compromising photo to blackmail the woman into keeping the affair quiet. Greitens' attorney has signaled that he plans to fight the charges.

Meanwhile, Greitens, a former Navy SEAL who was thought to have aspirations to run for president, faces increasing pressure from fellow Missouri Republicans to resign.

Greitens’ counterparts from other states didn’t want to go that far, but they weren’t rushing to his defense either.

At the NGA meeting in Washington, the most frequent response was to shrug and say Greitens' next move is his decision.

When asked whether he had any recommendations on what Greitens should do, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, an independent, simply said, "I do not."

"I have enough trouble keeping up with Mississippi," said former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who once chaired the Republican Governors Association.

"I just saw a little bit reported about that in the media," current Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said. "I just don't have enough mileage to determine whether or not he should resign or stay on."

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, the current RGA chairman, talked with Greitens last week following the indictment. But he said other governors didn’t need to advise Greitens on what he should do.

"I think that's up to Eric and his family and the people to decide. I don't think they need us as other governors telling him what he should do," Haslam said. “They know what their relationship is with Gov. Greitens. If they've had conversations with him, that's up to them. "

Even during a Republican administration, Greitens never fully stomped out speculation that he might run for president in the coming cycles. He has attended multiple fundraisers for fellow governors around the country and cattle calls like the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference.

After news of the scandal first broke, Greitens kept a low profile, avoiding most interviews. He was slated to attend the NGA winter meeting but canceled after the indictment on Thursday. He also stepped down from his position on the RGA's executive committee.

Democrats, meanwhile, are not keeping quiet.

On Thursday, the Democratic Governors Association released a statement highlighting that Greitens was featured in ads for Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's reelection campaign.

“Gov. Bruce Rauner stood by Gov. Eric Greitens even as these disturbing allegations became public,” Sam Salustro, the communications director for the DGA in Illinois, said in a statement. “But now that Gov. Greitens has been criminally indicted, Gov. Rauner must call on him to resign immediately.”

At a DGA news conference on redistricting on Friday, DGA chairman and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy all gave some version of a “yes” to the question of whether Greitens should go.

"Yeah," Wolf said when the trio of governors were asked whether they thought Greitens should resign.

"If there's any truth to these early, disturbing allegations, then yes," Inslee said.

"If the pictures exist, and apparently they do, the answer's yes,” Malloy said.